Residents Unhappy With Barren Berm

N. Lauderdale-tamarac Site Lost Its Plant Buffer

A berm running between North Lauderdale and Tamarac will be seeded with a durable grass, probably in the next two to three months, after much of it was cleared to allow hurricane debris cleanup.

The response is only a first step, North Lauderdale officials said, and additional planting might be scheduled later. But Tamarac residents on the western side of the canal contend the berm was rendered barren from an overreaction, and the seeding is an underwhelming approach to repairs.

"We want what we had," said Gina Lettieri, whose Tamarac home is along the canal. "They don't have to cover the whole island, but they need to put the noise buffer back and put in something to prevent erosion."

The berm, running more than two miles along the canal separating North Lauderdale and Tamarac, was the topic of a Feb. 20 public meeting that drew about three dozen people to the Heathgate-Sunflower clubhouse in Tamarac. Also attending were North Lauderdale Mayor Jack Brady, North Lauderdale director of Public Works and Utilities Mike Shields and Tamarac City Commissioner Karen Roberts.

The berm, now reduced to a narrow strip of land scattered with weeds and rocks, is about 20 yards wide and runs along an 80-yard-wide canal. Once covered with small trees and shrubs, the berm needed to be cleared after Hurricane Wilma threw trees and debris into the North Lauderdale side of the canal, according to Shields.

By obstructing the flow of the canal, the debris made flooding a concern, and since city workers could not go into the back yards of homes along North Lauderdale's side of the canal, they needed to recover the material from the berm, Shields said. Getting equipment into position required that the berm be cleared of the vegetation, much of it non-native plants, that served as a visual and noise buffer.

"We understand their concerns and we certainly appreciate their concerns," Shields said. "But we felt that our liability exposure far outweighed anything else, so we made the decision [to clear the berm and recover the debris]."

The meeting, which saw a few sharp exchanges, also featured Tamarac residents volunteering to help North Lauderdale restore the berm. Discussion touched on the availability of grants, the role of Broward County in assisting in the repairs and even the possibility of Tamarac residents purchasing and delivering plants or small trees to be placed on the berm. Two separate signup sheets were passed around the room, one for residents willing to provide manpower and the other for those willing to research issues.

"We will do all we can to work with the people of Tamarac," Brady said.

The initial planting of grass will help prevent erosion, Shields said, but he couldn't promise what other steps might be taken. Any future replanting on the berm, technically part of North Lauderdale's Water Control District, will require a determination of what vegetation might work best, how much maintenance it would require and how the project would be financed.

"We're willing to try and work together to solve this," Shields told those gathered. "Whether everyone will be happy with it, that I can't guarantee."

Kevin Smith can be reached at kssmith@sun-sentinel.com or 954-572-2009.